Preview

Reflection of Mary Rowlandson's Captivity

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1062 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Reflection of Mary Rowlandson's Captivity
It was difficult for me reading the story that was told about Mary Rowlandson’s Captivity. I have read so many stories about all of the awful things that have been done to the Indians; it surprised me I guess to here the reverse and all the cruelty that was taking place. I am sorry it is three pages also, I could have written so much more. The details of the morning invasion on Mary’s home and with forty-two people inside, the Indians set her home on fire, and shot at them when they tried to exit the home. It was so descriptive, and that Mary herself wrote the events made it feel that much more real to me. The bravery Mary show’s trying to unlatch the heavy door to leave the home while being shot at, and the attempt to get the six dogs to wake, that were supposed to protect them were useless. Pg2 (“None of them would stir,” said Mary, “though another time, if any Indian had come to the door, they were ready to fly upon him and tear him down.”) I liked how this was put, and told, and how it states that it was significant because the Puritans should rely on God alone not on dogs. Mary bravely; was the first to get the door open and the first to get out the door of the home, while being shot at carrying her youngest child, Sarah. Following close behind were men, who were being butchered as they ran out, either by gun shots, or slathered by hatchets. She was surrounded by the bodies of neighbors and relatives. I was taken back, at the picture in my mind while reading, how she could have watched her three children get taken prisoner from her and sent off in all directions and everyone she loved die around her. Yet she still continued to fight to stay alive. How many people would do that? Mary was married to Joseph Rowlandson and they married in 1656, and had four children together, the first died in infancy, then Joseph, Mary, and Sarah. I thought it was interesting how the children were named after both the mother and the father. In some cultures it is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mary Rowlandson, the daughter of a wealthy land holder in the Massachusetts Bay colony, was a victim of the King Philip war. She got married to Joseph Rowlandson at the age of 18, they had four children, one in which died in infancy. Shortly before the King Philip war ended a group of American Indians attacked the city of Lancaster and captured Mrs. Rowlandson along with her 3 children and a group of settlers. She wrote a narrative about what she had experienced during her captivity. This narrative was the only evidence of her being a writer. During the attack Rowlandson witnessed the murder of many of her friends and family as well as the death of her…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of Mary Rowlandson’s narrative the Natives aren't so nice. The Natives had rebelled against the English Settlers, killing their men and capturing the women and children. Mary Rowlandson and her children are captured. Mary talks about how she is starved, and threatened to be punished if she doesn't do what she is asked, but the hardships that Mary endured were nothing compared to what the Native Americans endured during their enslavement by the English…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mary Rowlandson was captured in 1676 and remained a captive for three months before the requested ransom was paid. Rowlandson had very different experiences from James Smith with the Indians. At her capture, she witnessed the Indians killing or harming many in her family. Rowlandson, herself, suffered a gunshot wound. James Smith was also harmed when first captured by the Indians; however, he had been aided by French doctors. Mary Rowlandson dealt with her gunshot wound on her own. She also had to carry her sick child for six days before the child passed away. Rowlandson was not able to read freely in front of the Indians, she was not given a fair share of the food, and was often forced to find other Indian tribes to spend the night with, or to receive food from. Rowlandson was sometimes allowed to go and meet with family members who were with neighboring tribes. Compared to James Smith’s experiences, Mary Rowlandson had it tough when she was a captive of the…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “At first they were all against it, except my husband would come for me, but afterwards they assented to it, and seemed much to rejoice in it; some asked me to send them some bread, others some tobacco, others shaking me by the hand, offering me a hood and scarf to ride in; not one moving hand or tongue against it.” (Rowlandson 139) Mary, not sure if it was God’s way of granting her desire, she wanted to leave in peace with no looking over the shoulder. There was an offer to leave in the night, but she declined in which she wanted no problems but a peaceful journey home. At this point she is viewing her capture, as an exchange or a bartering tool used by the Indians, so why flee the scene and risk further troubles. In Andrew Newman’s Critical essay “Captive on the literacy frontier” he says,…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the cannon fire, Mary's husband fell either because of the extreme heat or because he was struck. Immediately, she dropped her pitcher of water and began to fire the cannon where her husband had left off. Mary stayed at the cannon until the battle was over and the Patriot warriors had finally gained their victory. There are accounts in the National Archives that state during battle, a cannon ball passed through her legs and didn't do any harm except tear off the bottom of her petticoat. It was as if Mary was completely oblivious to the fact that a cannon ball had passed through her legs, and the only thing that mattered was making sure the cannon was run properly. Legend also has it that Mary was thanked personally by none other than General Washington himself. The Battle of Monmouth was the last battle that occurred directly between the British and the Americans, and was one of the last wars that was fought in the northern…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan woman with a strong religious ethic was captured by the Indians or as she describes them “savages” during the King Phillips war. Mary was faced with severe amount of pain and suffering and was held hostage and stripped away from her basic necessities. Her children were also captured and separated from her, sold or bought by other Indians. Throughout her narrative “The Sovereignty and goodness of God” Mary dealt with unremarkable sufferings however, she remained sanguine about the difficulties she encountered, portraying her hardship and misfortunes as a test from God. After Mary survives the terrible conditions she feels blessed and very thankful that she has finally escaped those treacherous Indians and has returned…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mrs. Mary Rowlandson in the excerpt, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, asserts that Native Americans are barbarous savages; only the grace of God guided the author to survival. Rowlandson supports her claim by illustrating the bloody attacks the Natives led against the colonists and the deaths of her closest family members and friends. The author’s purpose is to expose the cruelties of the Native Americans in order to persuade all educated colonists that Native Americans are cruel, not friendly, and cannot be cooperated with. Therefore, the author writes in a grieving and anguished tone for all educated white colonists with mixed knowledge and perspectives on the trustworthiness of Native Americans.…

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mary Rowlandson Analysis

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Mary Rowlandson was an English woman born in 1636. Her parents were John and Joan White. They had moved to Massachusetts in the year of 1639. They were a Puritan family and strongly devoted to their religion. Mary Rowlandson was especially devoted. She went through what is called King Philip’s War. The Indians following Metacomet raided the homes of Plymouth. During this war about 5,000 Indians were killed and about 2,500 colonists were killed. Mary was moved and sold, along with many others including her children, by the Indians(213). The Indians beat, starved, tortured, dehydrated, and killed the colonists that they took. Some of the Indians were not abusive towards their “property” or slaves. Some were gentle and helped the colonists in their time of need.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    She was physically alive but mentally and emotionally dead. Mary got separated from two of her children and was left with the youngest who was wounded and died shortly there after in Mary’s hand due to lack of medical attention. Mary learned that her elder daughter was held in the town that she was but never saw her. She continued with the Indians on their journey through the wilderness, barely surviving what is now her life. The Indians had stopped at many towns that they conquered, selling the settlers from Lancaster to different sannups and squaws (husband and wife respectively). This was exhausting for Mary as she had to be moving often with different masters each time. She finally saw her son as he was held captive at a settlement that was close by and again was separated shortly thereafter from him. She felt as if the journey was never ending and life was no longer important to her; “When I was returned, I found myself as unsatisfied as I was before […] my sprit was ready to sink with the thoughts of my poor children.”…

    • 1283 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both endured a form of slavery and imprisonment and both were forced to reckon with nature and alien like cultures and customs. Both were held on a pedestal made of their own potential to survive. They each furthered their skill and grit in order to take on the elements. However, of the two, John Smith has a reinforced foundation as a narrator due to what little he had to lose other than his life and rather than being tortured he established a trade agreement and was later assimilated into the tribe nearly becoming one of them . Mary Rowlandson, however had a substantial amount to lose such as the respect of her fellow settlers, regression, and wellbeing. The events that took place within her capture differentiate from those of john Smith. Mary Rowlandson was never fully assimilated and formed no such bond with her captors. Though, both have their differences, both narratives are nothing short of remarkable. Tales of survival and assimilation are by far the most enduring. Though both narrators have their differences, their reliability and their stories are nothing more than captivating and…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Captivity narratives are written by those captured by their enemies. They are considered enemies based on their beliefs and views to be uncivilized. The Mary Rowlandson’s Captivity narrative holds a strong importance in early American history. During this time these types of narratives are allowing us to take a look at our colonial America culture by someone who was there. There are apparent themes in this captivity narrative such as the uncertainty of life. While showing part of her life, through her Puritan beliefs and faith of God, by Rowlandson tells us her story. It expresses her point of views on the way she felt, and lived through a time in history.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rowland, whom she settled with in Lancaster, MA in the year 1656. She recounts the events that…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Bradford’s narrative, the Pilgrims must settle in a strange, new, harsh world. The colonists endure a hard journey and have no warm buildings to welcome them ashore. They sleep in stick shelters. But we do not really live the adversity in Bradford’s narrative in the same way we are easily put into the experience in the other narratives. Bradford writes in a broad, sweeping fashion, while the other writers write with more detail. We hear about Mary’s captivity in her narrative. She is not fed very well, and in the early part of her captivity she had to live in pain from her injury. The Natives move frequently, which does not help her. Her captors have no respect for her. Obviously, Mary’s tribulations are terrible. But still, both narratives pale in comparison to Equiano’s narrative in terms of who had the worst experience. Equiano’s narrative is by far the hardest read when you picture what he went through. The conditions aboard the slave ship are horrifying: disease, abuse, cramped spaces, and terrible smells. It’s easy to picture the situation because Equiano describes it so vividly, yet hard to fathom how awful it really was to live. The stories are very different…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Once Mary Rowlandson’s youngest daughter died, she was left alone with the Indians. No loved ones surrounded her; it was just herself in this unfamiliar, scary territory. She turned to God, and his word to help…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mary and the rest of the…

    • 236 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays